Sense amplifiers can be used to sense a value of a bit stored in a memory cell of a memory structure. A memory structure can include an array of memory cells. Examples of memory structures include electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, and dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Conventional sense amplifiers can be based on differential amplifier architectures. Conventional sense amplifiers compare current from a selected memory cell to current from a reference cell. For example, the reference cell can be a reference memory cell from an array of reference memory cells. As another example, the reference cell can be a dummy bitline, analogous to a standard bitline, with a reference current.
Modern trends show memories using smaller and smaller supply voltages. For example, modern flash memories typically use a 1.2V supply voltage. As memories use less and less power, the difficulty of sensing can increase. To ensure proper sensing, the ratio of the current from a selected memory cell to the current from a reference cell must be high to account for process variations in the memory and reference cells and impacts of memory cycling on the memory cells.